Arrow ｡ Henry Mills [1]

6 - TALKING MOTHERS

The next day, Teresa found herself laying on the couch, watching as her best friend Snow White rocked her baby to sleep. Neal was his name, as she had learned the night before after the snow monster incident, and he was a beautiful little prince. Not only did Teresa meet Neal, but she also met Snow's grandson and Emma's son, Henry Mills. That was something she was still trying to wrap her head around. One of her closest friends was a queen and her king was the man they once robbed, and now they had children and a grandchild.

"Here you go, sweetheart. I'll see you in three hours for your midnight shrieking," Snow said as she gently placed him in his crib. "Yes, I will. Ohh. Sweet dreams."

Henry walked over and glanced down at his uncle. "What do you suppose babies dream about?"

"Bullfighting," David answered.

"Laser tag," Emma threw in.

Teresa looked at Emma as if she had two heads. "What in the hell laser tag?"

Emma glanced over at the blonde laid out on the couch. "A very fun game that you will have to try some time, kid."

"Hey, princess, how many times do we have to go over this? Don't ─ "

Emma cut her off. "Call you kid, yeah yeah, I know." David and Snow chuckled as Emma rolled her eyes at the blonde teenager.

"If you knew, why say it?" Teresa sent a smirk towards Emma. "Anyways, Snow, perhaps little Neal is dreaming of the bluest waters or the brightest flowers. Or perhaps he's a warrior and is fighting great battles for his kingdom."

"None of those are true," Snow declared, hands on her hips.

"I think they're joking," Henry said.

"Right. I'll recognize funny again when he's three and I've had some sleep."

"Three?" David watched as his wife sat down in the rocking chair. "I see the optimism returning."

"Okay, chocolate, DVDs, ice cream. Red wine," Emma said as she listed off the many items within Henry's maroon basket he was fixing up in the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow. "That's one heck of a late-night snack, kid."

"It's for my mom."

"I don't drink and sheriff," Emma stated.

"My other mom. I googled how to get over a breakup. It didn't talk about your boyfriend's wife time-travelling back from the past, but close enough." Henry finished with a shrug.

Emma gave her son a smile. "That's really sweet."

"I still can't get over that," Teresa voiced, eyes trained on the ceiling as she now laid spread out on the couch with her arms behind her head.

"Get over what?" Asked David.

"That your grandchild is the son of the Evil Queen."

"She's not the Evil Queen anymore," Henry said in a defensive tone.

Teresa sat up, her eyes meeting Henry's cocoa ones. "Noted. But, you see ─ I hate to burst your bubble here Henry, but some people just don't change."

"Teresa," Snow said in a warning tone, sounding like her mother.

"Some people can change," Henry said. "She did. If you don't believe me, come with me. You can see for yourself that she isn't the way she used to be. Adopting me, it changed her."

Teresa held his stare for a moment before sighing. "Fine."

All of a sudden, something hit the window, startling the blonde teenager. She whipped around and opened the window to find a black raven with a scroll tied to its leg. "I see you still deliever messages the same way here," she commented while pulling the scroll from its legs. She then read it who it was for. "Speaking of the devil ─ it's for you, from your mother."